LM Advisors LLC Sells 4,981 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• LM Advisors LLC cut its stake in Essex Property Trust by 75.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,981 shares and leaving it with 1,619 shares worth about $424,000.
• Insider activity also showed selling, with Director Mary Kasaris disposing of 600 shares at $279.45 each, reducing her holdings by about 20%.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed: analysts have a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $288.44, while Essex recently reported earnings that missed estimates but still announced a quarterly dividend of $2.59 per share.

LM Advisors LLC decreased its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 75.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,619 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,981 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC's holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $293.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $296.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $288.44.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $283.40 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $238.46 and a one year high of $294.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $258.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 116.40%.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc NYSE: ESS is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.

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